Contador the king: On Sunday, just a month after completing his two-year drug ban, Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank cyclist Alberto Contador won his second career Vuelta a España, finishing over a minute ahead of his two rivals and compatriots Alejandro Valverde and Joaquim Rodriguez.. Contador had trailed Rodriguez for much of the race, but he eventually cracked on stage 17 after Contador rode solo for almost 50 kilometres to take a lead he never let go of.
Top ten tumble: Following her elimination in the first round of the US Open, Caroline Wozniacki, 22, has officially dropped out of the world’s top ten for the first time in three years. The world number eleven dropped 895 ranking points and two places down the ladder, and she now looks likely to miss the prestigious season-end’s WTA tournament for the first time since 2008.
On course for Israel: The Danish under-21s are through to the final 16 of the Euro 2013 qualifiers. They made it as one of the best four runners-up. A draw on Friday at 14:00 will determine who they will meet in the play-offs (Oct 12 & 16) to qualify for the finals (June 5-18 in Israel). In their final game, they beat Northern Ireland 3-0 in Aalborg. Michael Laudrup’s son Andreas was among the scorers.
Better than Brazil: Denmark remain above Brazil in the current FIFA world rankings, clinging onto their position at number ten, two places above the five-time World Cup winners. The rankings have come under increasing criticism of late, and Denmark’s superiority over Brazil is often cited as proof they don’t work, along with England’s lofty status at number three and Greece’s position of eleventh.
Malaysian midwicket misery: The national cricket team have failed to win promotion to the World Cricket League Division Three. On Monday they finished fourth in the six-team division in Malaysia, despite last week beating one of the promoted teams, the USA, and winning three of their first four games. An inferior run rate ultimately cost the Danes, who needed promotion to keep their 2015 World Cup dreams alive.
Viral and going: A video clip from the third tier of Danish football is quickly going viral this week. Because not only did Jakob Køhler, the goalkeeper for Danish Second Division East side BK Frem, score an equaliser in injury time, he did it with an overhead kick. Following which, the iPhone user recording the goal recovered his composure to film Køhler celebrate with more gymnastics.
Hand it over: Women’s handball side Viborg HK is taking a novel approach in its bid to buy a new right back: it is asking its supporters to invest in the transfer fee. The central Jutland club are charging 500 kroner a share and is aiming to sell a total of 700 – a target that would raise 350,000 kroner. And the club’s employees have already bought 300 of them, according to Sporten.dk.
Czech stalemate: Denmark dominated in its opening 2014 World Cup qualifier against the Czech Republic last Saturday, but could not find a way past keeper Petr Cech. The game finished 0-0. In the absence of the banned Nicklas Bendtner, FCK’s new signing Nicolai Jørgensen led the line but struggled to make an impact. The next game is in Bulgaria on October 12, followed by the trip to Italy four days later on October 16.
